temples and pilgrimage
What is the Wari pilgrimage to Pandharpur and who are the Varkaris?
The god at the centre
Pandharpur sits on the Bhima river in Maharashtra. Its main temple holds Vithoba, also called Vitthal, a form of Vishnu or Krishna depending on how you ask. He stands with his hands on his hips, waiting. The tradition says he is always there, always ready to receive whoever comes. For Varkaris, reaching Pandharpur and standing before Vithoba is the whole point of the journey.
Who the Varkaris are
Varkari means one who keeps the vari, the regular visit. The Varkari sampradaya is a devotional movement rooted in Maharashtra, with a long line of poet-saints whose songs, called abhangas, are still sung on every pilgrimage today. Two names stand above the rest. Dnyaneshwar wrote a celebrated commentary on the Gita in Marathi and is seen as a founding figure of the tradition. Tukaram, who came later, wrote hundreds of abhangas full of plain, direct devotion. Both are deeply loved. Their teachings ask for no caste distinction and no elaborate ritual, just sincere love for Vitthal.
The palkhi and the walk
The pilgrimage is organised around the palkhi procession. A palkhi is a palanquin carrying the sandals of a saint, most famously Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram. Pilgrims walk alongside it for weeks, singing abhangas the whole way. The walking itself is the practice. There is no silence or solitude here. It is loud, joyful, communal. People sing in groups called dindis, moving together through villages and fields. The road is the temple.
When it happens
The Wari happens twice a year. The bigger one falls on Ashadhi Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the bright half of the month of Ashadha, in the monsoon season. The second falls on Kartiki Ekadashi, in the autumn. Ekadashi, the eleventh lunar day, is already a day of fasting and devotion in Vaishnava tradition. Arriving at Pandharpur on that day is seen as especially auspicious.
Today
The Wari is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in India. People from all walks of life join, from farmers and labourers to city dwellers. Many families have walked it for generations. Outside Maharashtra, Varkari communities in other parts of India and in the diaspora keep the tradition alive through local gatherings, abhanga singing, and smaller observances on Ekadashi days. The songs of Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram are heard wherever Marathi-speaking Hindus gather.